The Towerlight February 23, 1984

tl19840223-000 "The Towerlight II I should not be learning now, when should I be? �Lac ydes Vol. 77 No. 18 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 A lone pedestrian crosses the Glen Bridge. By Edvins Lagzdins University to represent students in ticketing case Tickets should be turned in to Parking Services by March 1 By James Hunt A Towson State official will act as the court representative for stu-dents whose cars were ticketed along Cross Campus Drive January 30, according to Ralph Valle, direc-tor of office services. The court date has been set for April 9 at 9 a.m. at the County Courthouse in Towson. Valle said that it is not manda-tory for students to appear in court; however, they must turn the bottom portion of their parking citation to University's Parking Services of-fice, Room 118, University Union, by March 1 if they wish to be repre-sented. Valle said the University was con-cerned that only 15 of the approxi-mately 95 students who received tickets returned them to request a trial, and it petitioned the residing judge at the courthouse for an ex-tension to March 1 of the deadline for requesting a trial. He attributed the low return to confusion by students about the correct procedures for these tickets. The tickets affected are numbered: 0642944 to 0642975 0643301 to 0643355 0643357 to 0643364 Valle said that he is ""confident the judge will rule in our favor,"" but added, ""there are no guarantees."" He said that anyone who has al-ready paid their tickets should turn their names into Parking Services by the March 1 deadline; however, he wasn't certain what could be done for them. Survey finds today's freshmen more liberal LOS ANGELES�This year's freshman class is a bundle of contra-dictions� it is for school busing, against the legalization of mari-juana, slightly more liberal than last year's freshman class, and yet more concerned with making money�ac-cording to UCLA's recently releas-ed national survey of freshman atti-tudes. ""Probably one of the most signifi-cant findings of this year's survey was the concern students voiced about grading in high school being too easy,"" said Kenneth C. Green, associate director of ""The American Freshman"" survey, which has been conducted annually since 1966 by the University of California at Los Angeles' Graduate School of Educa-tion. It is the biggest survey of its kind. Students' concern that their high school grading systems were too easy ""shows that the national con-cern over academic quality is not limited to educators and policy ex-perts,"" Green said. Over 58 percent of the 254,000 students surveyed at more than 480 colleges felt their high school grades were inflated, compared to 64.6 per-cent last year. At the same time, students' high school grades declined for the third year in a row. Only 20.4 percent of the students earned ""A"" averages in high school, compared to 20.8 per-cent last year and 23.3 percent in the peak year of 1978. This year's frosh are also more supportive of busing to integrate schools. For the first time in the history of the survey, over half the students are pro-busing. Only 36.9 percent of the students support increased military spend-ing, compared to 38.9 percent last year. More students are for a national health care system and greater gov-ernment efforts to protect the envi-ronment. Nearly half the freshman class of 1970 said married women ""belong in the home."" Only 24.5 percent of this year's entering class maintains the same attitude towards women, the study shows. Overall, more students-21.1 per-cent compared to 20.7 percent last year�label themselves as ""liberal"" or ""far left"" in their political atti-tudes, while the students labeling themselves as ""far right"" or ""con-servative"" dropped from 19.4 per-cent to 18.7 percent. ""Middle of the road"" continues to be the most popular label, endorsed by 60.3 percent of the incoming stu-dents. ""But we're finding that more than ever, the traditional labels of liberal, conservative, and middle of the road are not necessarily predic-tive of student attitudes on certain issues,"" Green noted. For instance, fewer students sup-port the legalization of marijuana, greater government vigilance in protecting consumers, or more gov-ernment- run energy conservation programs. More students than ever before are interested in making money and ""being well off financially,"" the sur-vey showed. And the number of students con-cerned with ""developing a meaning-ful philosophy of life"" hit an all time low of 44 percent, down from 46.7 percent last year and 83 percent in 1967. Business continues to be the most popular major, although the number of students interested in an engineering degree dropped for the first time in several years, from 12 to 10.8 percent. The number of students inter-ested in teaching rose for the first time in 15 years, from last year's all-time low of 4.7 to slightly over five percent. ""The trends in our data are reflec-tions of the national economy,"" Green speculated. ""The days of the college degree by itself bringing an assured future are gone, and we are seeing that reflected in students' choice of majors and career goals."" College Press Service February 23, 1984 Senate holds decision on Div. I status By James Hunt For the third consecutive week, the University Senate adjourned be-fore deciding whether to accept a re-port favoring Towson State's con-tinued participation in NCAA Divi-sion I athletics and an increase in athletic fees. The Senate will meet again next Monday at 4:00 pm in the Univer-sity Union. The report, submitted by the Sen-ate's Intercollegiate Athletic Com-mittee, calls for the University to re-main in Division I and to raise ath-letic fees $75 over the next three years�$25 per year. The report also recommends that the varsity foot-ball team, ranked fourth in the na-tion in Division II this year, move to the Yankee Conference of Divi-sion I-AA. According to the report, the fee increase�the most widely debated recommendation�is necessary to offset the rising cost of competition in all sports. The $100 fee assessed to the approximately 10,000 full-time students here currently gener-ates almost $1 million annually. The increase to $175 after 3 years would generate $1.8 million, a figure the committee deemed the minimum necessary to support a competitive Division I program. Discussion of the report, which lasted the entire two hours of the meeting, was extensive and, in some case repetitive. Supporters of the recommendations, including Presi-dent Hoke Smith, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Sally Souris and Director of Alumni De-velopment believe that remaining in Division I: � enhances the University's aca-demic reputation by association with schools such as Bucknell and Lehigh, which they feel is a ""posi-tive factor"" in recruiting students. � establishes pride and commit-ment in the University, resulting in increased attendance at athletic events and contributions from friends and alumni of the school. � fills the need for a competitive Division I program in the Baltimore area. � helps the University schedule games. There are, they say, very few Division II schools in this area. Raising the fee will also provide additional funds for women's and 'minor' sports, which are, the com-mittee said, presently underfunded. Moving to a lower division, how-ever, would have a ""deleterious and embarrassing effect"" on the Uni-versity's image and recruiting ef-forts. Opponents of remaining in Divi-sion I and raising the fee, among them several coaches and faculty members say: � there is no firm data to support the contention that staying in Divi-sion I enhances the University's reputation. � there are not enough people participating in athletics, either as athletes or spectators, to justify the fee increase. � the fee increase will divert resources from more legitimate Uni-versity concerns. � students cannot afford the fee increase. Many, they say, are hav-ing difficulty affording school now. The coaches, in particular, say the University cannot support par-ticipation in Division I with the pre-sent facilities, equipment, personnel and grant-in-aids. Student: support for the fee in-crease was evenly divided in a poll conducted by the Committee prior to making its recommendations. 393 students expressed support for the fee increase; 341 opposed it. The validity of the poll itself, which also included faculty, athletes, coaches, alumni, adminis-trators, and four local media repre-sentatives, was challenged by Dr. Richard Vatz, a member of the Sen-ate and professor of speech, who felt it was poorly constructed and thus did not represent an accurate survey of opinion. Six of the seven students who ad-dressed the Senate Monday opposed the fee increases. Debate team member Beth Hes-sler and College Republican Presi-dent Shawn Hill called for a referen-dum on fees as part of the Student Government Association Elections in March. The idea was dismissed, however, when a student Senate member pointed out that only 1200 students, or slightly over 10 percent of those eligible, voted in last years election. It seems likely that a decision will be reached at the Senate's next meeting. The report was placed on the Senate's agenda at it s regular See DIVISION I, page 2 On the Inside ELECTIONi Hunk flicks A new movie starring Tom Selleck, An old movie starring Harrison Ford reviewed page 5 Up and down on the court Men's basketball nips Delaware, 62-61; Women lose bid for first place page 7 SGA Elections are March 12-13 Editorial and a commentary by Mike Judge page 10 & 11 Andersen: 'Dual reality' pervades Maryland's Eastern Shore Margaret Andersen By Terie Wolan Visitors to Maryland's Eastern Shore are usually struck by the large homes and the many pleasure craft along the rivers attestine to the affluence of its residents. But there are also many small black com-munities not as visible to visitors, existing in the shadow of the more wealthy inhabi-tants. This ""dual reality"" is the theme of a re-cent work by Dr. Margaret Andersen en-titled ""Between Two Worlds: Racism and Class on the Eastern Shore"". Andersen, an associate professor at the University of Delaware and the director of women's stud-ies there, discussed some of her research for that work at Towson State last Friday. ""When I first moved to the Eastern Shore,"" Andersen said, ""even though I had lived in the deep south, in Goergia, this land and architecture evoked images of slavery for me that were stronger than any I recalled feeling from living in the south."" Andersen divided her study of race rela-tionships into three time periods: the plan-tation economy from the mid-seventeenth century through the Civil War, industriali-zation from post Civil War to the mid-twen-tieth century, and modern post-industrial capitalism. ""Each period has a unique system of race relations which comes to characterize black and white interaction and the belief sys-tems of blacks and whites,"" Andersen said. During the plantation period, race rela-tions are characterized by an attitude of pa-ternalism and overt racism, followed by open conflict in the industrial period. Now, she said, race relations are further compli-cated by class conflict as well. ""The Eastern Shore seems to encapsu-late all three periods,"" Andersen said. Descendants of slave owners�including executives of multinational corpora-tions� still live on some of the former plan-tations, near black communities first con-structed by former slaves in the Recon-struction. Andersen said that while ""Most people equate the history of racism with the deep south, slavery as an economic system be-gan around the Chesapeake Bay."" Until the 1790, when the cotton industry began to develop dramatically, nearly two-thirds of the black population of the United States resided around the Chesapeake, working the tobacco trade. Harriet Tubman�the leader of the Un-derground Railroad, which ferried blacks to the northern states�was from the Eastern Shore, as was prominent abolitionist Fred-erick Douglass, who was formerly a slave on the largest plantation in that area. Andersen feels her research is unique in that unlike most scholars and historians, who have traditionally done research based on the accounts of the dominant class, she has looked at the records and evidence from the point of view of those who were op-pressed, using collections of narratives and letters from former slaves. ""What we have learned through the study of women's history, Andersen said, ""which I would say is also true in the study of black history, is that the more we look at history from the perspective of women or of blacks, the more positive our view of black culture and women's culture becomes. It is not seen as distorted, not defined as de-viant or aberrant, as it is when it is seen through the eyes of the dominant class."" Andersen said, ""in the contemporary world, racism has become even more insid-ious because .. . we measure people's worth through the property they own, the jobs that they have. When you couple this with the continuing economic system on the Eas-tern Shore, where black labor is severely undervalued . . . then you have a population of black citizens who cannot, by virtue of their economic position, even begin to attain the characteristics which whites claim are then necessary to make thorn accepted."" "